The original correspondents were Jane Wallace, Bob Sirott, Meredith Vieira and John Ferrugia.
Despite serious reporting on issues like the Iran–Contra affair, the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, and the dangers of grey market drugs, the program was criticized for its slickness and superficiality.
This may have been because 60 Minutes executive producer Don Hewitt campaigned against the program both internally at CBS and through media contacts outside the company.
The Christian Science Monitor called it "a ditsy, disco-beat docu-mag for viewers with a short attention span".
"[2] By contrast, The Washington Post critic Tom Shales wrote of a particular segment, "What's again impressive is the quality of footage obtained, especially unusual on an investigative piece like this.